Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to data security control as applied to confidential data.
Description of the Related Art
In the electronic age, security of confidential information remains a vital concern for any entity that creates and stores sensitive information, or transmits it across both secure and insecure networks alike. Often there has been a need to protect confidential information from ‘prying eyes’ that are not authorized to access this confidential information. One way to secure confidential information is through cryptography. The purpose of cryptography is to make data storage and transmission secure.
In cryptography, security is achieved by means of encryption which can include converting plain text into a data stream that appears like a random sequence of bits. There are several methods and products for encrypting documents. Conventional products verify a user's authorization, or use public/private encryption keys, or use password protection, to name a few techniques. As a next step, confidential encrypted data can be decrypted and displayed for use by an authorized user.
Despite the promise of cryptography, vulnerability comes into play after decryption has been implemented since some portions of a decrypted document or secure webpage with confidential data are difficult to protect from ‘prying eyes’ or unauthorized users. In this regard, confidential data including social security numbers, medical information and account numbers are at risk of being viewed by others that may manage to ‘trespass’, ‘steal’ or access an authorized user's confidential data. Especially in public locations where unauthorized users may have a greater opportunity to view confidential information after it has been decrypted by an authorized user, there is a need to solve this vulnerability issue of securing data when data may be unattended or easily stolen.
Current methods attempt to solve this data vulnerability issue by offering users with privacy filters for computer displays that physically block any unauthorized view of confidential information displayed on a user's monitor. However, privacy filters can only protect a side view of a display from intrusion of ‘prying eyes.’ Thus, confidential data remains vulnerable. Another current method provides a software based solution in which a screensaver will replace all of the content of the computer display with a picture or other content after a fixed period of time. This does not protect the confidential data during the time the authorized user is actively using the computer, and during the time delay period before the screensaver obscures the view of the confidential data.